Take Away

Have you ever felt that you are going to fail? Feared the very swift destruction of the very thing you call life? Have you ever thought to yourself, "were my parents to blame?". "Was the way my parents 'protected' me the starting block for my rebellion, the one thing my parents dread?"

Is the Nature Versus Nurture issue still a big problem in your life? Do you truly understand the reasons behind teenage angst and anxiety?

Many parents have, over the generations, protected their young. These acts were simply "acts of love and mercy", a given for a child's parents. However, the parents never know this but the way they treat their child in the early development stage is crucial to their future. The parents should be informed about the risks of committing soul piercing acts on the children. These acts may consist of divorce, abuse and the mistreating of their very own flesh and blood. Some parents may argue that they are looking out for their children. But these parents never figure out the significance of the behaviour they have instilled in their children. Most children who live in bad conditions are the ones who will end up as the "baddies" of our generation. Examples of these children are Hilter, Mussolini and many others. The common factor between the first two examples is that they have changed the face of the world in their time. Unfortunately the change was negative.

The other point of view is that the Nurture process is the main cause of juvenile delinquents. This is especially true to me, as I have witnessed many cases with my own two eyes. The challenging part about this aspect is the unpredictability that the external factors will bring. The nurture process involves friends that are either good or bad in nature. If you end up with a person of good nature, you'll turn out good. And the result is the same likewise. This "Nurture" aspect is more believable as the factors cannot be controlled. And uncontrolled circumstances makes the case seem more realistic.

You've gotta know that whatever a person does has a ripple effect. If you pick out a book at the new book store, you'll probably see at least two people being interested in the exact same book. You'll never notice but the power of influence is always readily available in you, waiting for the perfect opportunity to either express positive views or the opposite. If a crook has a ripple effect, the amount of copycat burglars will be so huge that the neighbourhood will turn into a wasteland. This will cause a chain reaction that will start from the burglar and then to the shop keeper. The shopkeeper, being robbed, will look for revenue in cheating elderly ladies of their pension money. These ladies will then incur thousands upon thousands of debt on their children. These children, being parents, and bankrupt, will not provide a proper education to their children and under the right circumstances, the cycle will repeat with the children robbing anything in plain sight.

Yes, the example drawn maybe a little exaggerated but I find real meaning in the phrase, "Your friends make you who you are". It's so true that the Nurture effect has a large influence. However, everything on Earth is always balanced. For example, the crook might not have stolen anything if he wasn't born into a poor family. This proves the "Nature" point, a poor and lousy background. The "Nurture" point can be proven when suddenly the boy is pressured to steal a quick fix at the local 7-11, sparking off a theft spree. This might have all happened because of the boy's peers.

No matter which angle you analyse it from, you will see that the two are closely linked and every case must be handled personally.

Nature or Nurture?You decide.
Phua.